Lakers Start Reminiscent Of 2010-11 Heat

The Lakers are off to a 1-4 start and everyone wants to know why.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: It takes time to gel.

The Lakers 2012-13 start reminds me of the way the Miami Heat started the 2010-11 season. Expectations were high after LeBron “took his talents to South Beach”, Dwyane Wade decided to re-sign and Chris Bosh moved stateside after leaving Canada. It was perhaps the most anticipated start to an NBA regular season for any team ever, thanks to the free agent acquisitions.

The Heat stumbled out to a 9-8 start. LeBron took the brunt of the criticism. Every time you turned on ESPN you would be saturated with a headline such as “What’s Wrong With The Heat?” Every AM sports radio host in America wanted Erik Spoelstra fired. Dwyane Wade was on the decline of his career. Bosh was a non-factor. The Heat were screwed.

Until, suddenly they weren’t. After the auspicious start, the Heat reeled off 12 straight wins and won 21 of 23 games. No one was fired, no one retired, and most importantly no one quit. It took time for the team to develop chemistry and once they did, they rolled to a Southeast Division title, the number two seed in the Western Conference and ultimately the NBA Finals where they would lose to the Dallas Mavericks, then win the title the following year.

The only team to rival the Heat in recent memory in terms of high-powered acquisitions is this year’s LA Lakers squad. And their start to the season is strikingly similar.

Kobe suddenly isn’t as good as he was a year ago, Dwight Howard is “ailing” and everyone wants Mike Brown fired. They’ve played five games together, people. After barely playing together in the preseason.

The Lakers will right the ship. It’s a long season. Give it some time.